Wheel



J. V. MARTIN.

WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. l2. 1918.

Patented Oct. 24., i922.,

2 SHEETS-SHEE`I l.

y iu Il I. v. MARTIN.

WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I2, 191e.

Patented oct. 2A, 192.2.l

2 SHEETS-SHEE 2.

WMM goo Patented @cla i922.,

imam

. JAMES V. MARTIN, 0F ELYRIA, OHIO.

WHEEL.

Application led March 12, 1918. Serial No. 221,878.

To aZZf/wlzfom t may concer/11,:

Be it known that I, JAMES V. MARTIN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Elyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheels, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying draw-` ings.

The ground wheels of an aeroplane arej subjected to very severe lateral strainsand to heavy shocks due to its coming into con tact with the ground at high speeds, and much diculty has been experienced in providing wheels suiliciently light foi` the purpose and yet having sufficient rigidity to withstand those strains, and also having the necessary resiliency to relieve both wheels and chassis from thejsevere shocks incident to landing.

An object of this invention is to provide wheels v,for this vpurpose which, while they are light in weight and durable, have great strength to resist crushing and lateral strains and offer the maximum of resiliency to absorb shocks and Vto yieldingly support the chassis. A further object of the invention is to provide a constructionwherein the wheels, upon coming into contact with the ground, may have an extended upward movement relative totheI fixed chassis axle, thereby bringing the lateral thrust of the axle upon each wheel near the point at which it is in contact with the ground, and to provide certain other new and useful features in the construction and arrangement of parts,l all as hereinafter morefully Idescribed and particularly pointed out in the appended,

claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a wheel illustrative of the invention, showing the inner p side thereof, and an axle therefor in section;

Fig. 2 is a 7transverse vertical *section through ,the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section substantially 'upon the line III-II of FigQl;

Fig. 4, a similar sectionalv detail substantially upon the lineaIV-IV of Fig. 1; 'and Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a portionof an aeroplane chassis with wheels embodying the invention in place thereon.

As shown in the drawings', the aeroplane chassis includes a fixed or dead axle 1u on the ends of which the ground or supporting whee1s,indicated as e Whble at 2, are moanitv ed, and each end of this axle is formed with a head extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the axle in a perpendicular position, said head comprising parallel plates or members 3 connected by a cylindrical portion 4 and web' 5, said plates 3 extending a considerable distance above and below the plane of the axle and formed to slide freely in guide slots or ways 6 extending diametrically of the web or fixed center portion of the wheelJ which web is formed in two parts, one part 7 forming the inner side of the wheel and the other part 8 forming the outer side. These parts 7 and 8 are preferably cast or otherwise formed to provide mating peripheral rim or flange portions 9 and. radially extending members 10 corresponding to spokes connecting the rim portion and the guides 6, said guide, spoke and rim portions of each half' of the body or fixed center portion of the wheel, together forming an openA circular frameA or web, and when these two parts 7 and 8 are the raxle head formed by l the connected plates 3, is strengthened by a brace or diagonal arm 12 formed integral with the lower end of the plate and .the lower side of the axle, and for the purpose of stren hening the outer half 8 of the wheel bo y, the guides 6 thereof are connected by tie bars or lattice work 13 outside of the plane of the end face of the axle head.

Surrounding the wheel body therefrom, isa rim 14 which is .preferably of channel shape sin cross-section with a suitable tire 15 secured in any suitable manner upon' the outer side thereof. Within the channel rim at the vangles thereof are metal strips forming parallel tracks 16 engaged by 'fianged rollers or wheels 17 and 18 positionedbetween the. halves I of the wheel body to turn freely in bearings thereon, the

and spaced peripheries of said wheels or rolls projecting 9 provided therefor, into rolling contact Wththe tracks 16 011 therm. The rim is thus centered upon the wheel body by the rolls vto turn freely thereon when the tire comes into contact with the ground and the flanges on the rolls engaging the adjacent sides of the parallel tracks 16, securely hold the rim in place upon the body. The rolls 17 located at the lower side of the wheel body or web are preferably of larger diameter than the rolls 18 as they carry the greater proportion of the load and are subjected to the heaviest lateral strains in use. Other rolls 19 without flanges may be provided to run upon the tracks 16 if desired, and any suitable number of both plain and flanged rolls may be provided.

To exclude the dust and dirt from the interior of the wheel, a thin sheet metal disk 2O is secured in any suitable manner at its periphery to the outer edge of the wheel rim v14 to turn therewith and form a closure for the outer side of the entire wheel. The inner side of the wheel, or that into which the axle projects, may be'closed by a suitable diaphram 21 o-f rubber or other flexible material provided with openings through which the axle extends and secured at its peripheral edge portion to the rim portion 9 of the inner part 7 of the xed body or web, by a ring 22 held in place by screws 23. A rlng 24 secured to the inner edge of the rlm 14 overlaps the ring 22 to close the joint between the rim and the wheel body. Upon movement of the axle in the guides G,- thc draphragm 21 will yield sufficiently to permit such movement or the diaphragm may be provldedwith a slot or opening to permit such movementrof the axle.

To yieldingly support the axle. within it-s guldes 6 in the wheel web, a plurality of endless elastic bands 25 or members of other suitable resilient material and construction are supported and carried u on the wheel web or body by passing suitable rolls 26 through the looped ends 2T of the bands and engaging the roll shafts in the open bearmgs 28 provided therefor on the wheel body, the intermediate'portions of the bands being passed beneath the cylindrical portion 4 connectlng the plates 3'of the axle head. The entire weight of the axle and chassis is thus suspended from the upper portion of the wheel body by these elastic bands, the axle head shding freely in the ways 6 but being resisted in its downward movement. by the bands and limited in its upward move-ment 1n the ways by a stop bar 29 detachably attached at 30 to the wheel body at one side of the ways 6 to extend across the ways in the path of upward movement of the axle head, said bar belng pivotally secured to the body or'web at the opposite side of said ways at 31. This stop bar is so placed that when the axle 1s 1n contact therewith, the longitudinal axis of said axle will coincide -with the axis of the wheel. -The bi1-nds 25 are preferably proportioned Vso that they will normally hold the axle head against its stop bar but will yield under heavy loads or shocks, permitting the. head to move downwardly in its guides.

By releasing one end of the stop bar 29 and turning it out of the path of the axle head, said head may then be moved into the upper end of the guides by jacking up the axle, thus removing the load from the bands 25 which may then be quickly and easily removed for replacement or repair b-y lifting the rolls 26 from their open bearings 28.

The use of a plurality of elastic bands as the resilient supporting means for the axle, permits of an extended flexing movement which is desirable for the purpose, to take up the extreme shock of landing, and as the axle moves downward in its guides which extends nearly the full vertical diameter of the wheel body, the strains and side thrust are put upon the wheel near the point of its contact with the ground. and thus the liability of breakage of the wheel is minimized.

It is desirable to provide means for braking the wheels to reta-rd the progress of the machine. after landing` and for this purpose a lever 32 is pivoted intermediate its ends between the parts 7 and 8 in suc-h a manner that a shoe on one end of the lever may ride upon the tracks 16 of the rim 14 when turned into contact therewith by any suitable means such as a cable 34 attached to the inner end ofthe lever and passed over a pulley 35 and out through the body of the wheel to be led to the fusilage where the same may be convenientlyopei'ated by the pilot. A spring 36 normally holds the lever 32 turned with its shoe out of contact with the wheel rim.

A wheel which is light in weight and yet very strong in construction is thus secured by the arrangement of two webs or body members bolted together, and the construction of wheel with an inner non-rotatable body and outer rim rotatable thereon, further adds to the rigidity of construction and lends itself to the enclosing of the wheel against dust and dirt.

Obviously the rolls 17 and 18 may be dispensed with if found desirable and other changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not therefore, limit myself to the form or arrangement of parts shown.

1. A wheel .comprising a rotatable part and two non-rotatable parts, said nonrotatable parts guided upon each other for ver-v tical movement and wrapped by elastic ma; terial to resist the said movement, one of the said non-rotatableparts being secured to the axle,

2. In combination with a vehlele. wheel,

izo

Hange's and rounded parts between the said flanges, and elastic bands wrapped around the said rounded parts and adapted to resist separation of the said parts.

4. A wheel comprising a non-rotatable body provided with a vertical guide way, a rotatable wleel part encircling said body, a non-rotatable wheel carrying member slidable in said guide way, and a plurality of detachable elastic loops to suspend said member from said body, said body and member being provided with smooth curved portions to engage within the loop ends of said elastic loops, said elastic loops being located between the planes of the side faces of the Wheel.

5. A wheel comprising an inner non-rotatable body, a non-rotatable axle, means for yieldingly supporting the axle upon the` body, a rim surrounding the body, a disk 4secured to the outer side of the rim and enclosing said'body and outer end of said axle, and a flexible diaphragm secured to the body adjacent its periphery and at the inner side thereof, and having an opening through which the axle extends to form a closure for the inner side of the wheel, which closure is adapted tomyield to permit relative movement of said axle and body.

6. A wheel comprising a non-rotatable body formed of two parts with a vertically extending diametral guide opening in each part, an axle having a vertically elongated head engaging said guide openings and held between said parts, means for yieldingly supporting the axle upon the body, a stop for limiting the upward movement of the axle in said guide openings, said stop being adapted to be moved to permit such upward movement, and a disk forming a continuous unbroken surface closing the outer side of tha body and covering the outer end of the ax e.

In testimony whereof l atlix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. 

